Sierra Oncology has recently released two abstracts that will be presented at the 62nd American Society of Hematology (ASH) Annual Meeting. The meeting is planned for December 5-8. Both abstracts address momelotinib, a treatment for myelofibrosis.
About Myelofibrosis
Myelofibrosis is a bone marrow disorder and also a rare form of leukemia. It occurs when the DNA of one hematopoietic stem cell changes and results in the continuous copying of itself. These copies accumulate until they crowd out healthy cells. Affected individuals also make low numbers of normal blood cells. This results in symptoms like anemia, night sweats, fever, excessive bruising, an enlarged liver and/or spleen, frequent bacterial and/or fungal infections, excessive bleeding from the gums and nose, pain in the bones and joints, and tumors that form in the GI tract, liver, skin, spleen, and other organs. A number of genes can mutate to result in this condition: CALR, JAK2, and MPL. Medical professionals do not yet know why these mutations occur. Treatment consists of gene therapy, stem cell transplants, radiation, chemotherapy, ruxolitinib, and other symptom management methods.
About the Presentation
Data will be presented from the SIMPLIFY-1 and SIMPLIFY-2 trials, as they have been able to demonstrate that momelotinib can provide long-term survival, transfusion, independency, and improvement for the three hallmarks of this disease (spleen, anemia, and symptoms).
Presentation 1
The first of the two presentations focuses on the long-term overall survival data from both of the Phase 3 trials and will be given by Dr. Srdan Verstovsek. Dr. Verstovsek works at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston. It will be held at 8:15 AM Pacific Time.
Patients were randomized to receive either momelotinib or ruxolitinib/the best available treatment option. All of the people who enrolled were either JAK inhibitor-naïve or treated with JAK inhibitors in the past.
Presentation 2
This presentation was intended to compare the efficacy of momelotinib in comparison to ruxolitinib in patients with low platelets. Data from both of the SIMPLIFY trials will be included, and it will be presented by Dr. Jean-Jacques Kiladjian, who is a professor of clinical pharmacology at Paris Diderot University. The session will be held on December 7 from 7 AM to 3:30 PM Pacific Time.
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